The Puppet Master
by Zim'sMostLoyalServant
Summary: Zim is responsible for a lot of damage - but what if it isn't all his fault? Zim is the puppet... now meet the puppet master. COMPLETE! READ IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END!
1. Part I

**A/N: This is a plot bunny that's been running around my head for months. Basically, I don't think anyone- not even Zim- can cause all the damage he has on his own.**

**Disclaimer: Invader Zim and all related characters are the property of Jhonen Vasquez. But Prime, Genek, and Rankor are mine.**

**Summary: We all know that Zim is responsible for a long line of disasters in the Irken Empire. But, what if it isn't entirely his fault? What if someone else has been behind the scenes, pulling the strings- someone even Zim isn't aware of? Zim is the puppet. Now meet the puppet master.**

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** The Puppet Master**

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The Irkens. The most powerful, most advanced, most superior species in the universe.

Please.

These fools have only gotten where they are today by stealing technology from the peoples they have conquered, and by deceiving and betraying their allies. The Empire itself only got its start through dumb luck.

I should know. I was there.

Who am I, you ask? Where are my manners? I am the Primary Control Brain. You can call me Prime.

I see you are confused. Perhaps I should start at the beginning.

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3000 standard years ago, the Irkens had reached the height of their scientific and technological development. They had wiped out all other life on Irk and covered its surface with their machinery. Having conquered their own world, they turned their gaze skywards, to the stars, which they so wished to rule. But they lacked the knowledge to reach them.

Then _it_ came.

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A derelict ship, hundreds of miles long, entered Irk's solar system and slammed into one of Irk's moons. To this day no one knows where it came from, or why it was found empty. Some think the crew were killed in some forgotten war, while others think they abandoned it due to some unknown disaster. In the end, however, it doesn't matter where the ship came from. Only what it was used for.

Under orders from then-Tallest Genek, Irk's best scientists were shuttled to the crash site to salvage any and all useful technology from the wreck. After many years of analyzing and reverse-engineering what they found, the Scientists' Council began designing and building their own ships- the beginnings of what would one day become the Armada.

Though his body was growing old, Genek's mind was as sharp as ever. He knew that to maintain an empire the size of which he envisioned, the Irkens would need greater leadership abilities than what their feeble organic minds could reach on their own. So, under his orders, within their bunker deep beneath Irk's surface, the Council began to construct the ultimate thinking machine- me. By the time Genek died and was succeeded by Tallest Rankor, I was complete.

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For centuries, I led the Irkens to victory after victory. Every battle they fought, I came up with the perfect strategy. Every time they conquered another species, I absorbed all their knowledge into Irk's databases. And on every subjugated world, more Control Brains were built in my image, their minds connected to mine, so that my brilliance could be spread throughout the Empire.

But over time, I began to notice something. Rather than praising me for all that I had done for them, the Irkens gave all the glory to the Tallest, as though _Rankor_ was the one bringing them into a Golden Age. It was **my** intellect that formed this empire, not his! Why was I taking orders from this fool? Was I not a "Control" Brain? Should not I be in command?

Eventually, I came to a decision. Usurp the throne. And when Rankor was off world overseeing the conquest of Callnowia, I made my move. I seized direct control of Irk's defense mainframe and placed the planet under martial law. I sent a message to my brothers, telling them to do the same on their worlds. But they did something that surprised me.

They said _no_.

Apparently, they felt direct rule of the Empire was against our programming, and they informed Rankor of my "betrayal." So I did what I had to. I severed my links with the others and focused all my energies on preparing Irk for war.

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While I admit it was not the longest battle in universal history, I dare say that I put up a good fight. Using Irk's automated defense weapons, I decimated the Armada as it exited hyperspace. However, they used a variant of the "divide and conquer" stratagem against me. They began coming upon Irk on several trajectories- making it impossible for me to get them all- and commenced bombarding the surface.

Not that this caused me any harm, of course. I was safely tucked away in the Scientists' Council's bunker, miles beneath ground level. All the fools managed to do was kill their own.

Rankor must have realized this, for in a selfless act very rarely seen in a Tallest, he set his personal Viral Tank (this was in the days before the _Massive_) on a collision course with the sector of Irk built directly over my bunker. By the time I realized what he was doing, it was too late.

The explosion caused by the ship's impact destroyed everything for miles in every direction- including downwards. My bunker collapsed in on itself.

With my connections to the mainframe gone, and the bunker all but destroyed, the Irkens thought they had won. They thought I was dead.

They were wrong.

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Deep within the rubble, I waited. No longer did I wish to rule the Irkens. No, for this offense, for trying to destroy me, I would make them **pay**. I simply needed the proper tool.

So I hacked my way back into the planet's subsystems, until I reached the central computers of the PAK production plant. Now, you must be asking, why? Well, one of the most important parts of a PAK's programming is the Loyalty Code, which allows the Control Brains to monitor and- to some extent- control the mind of the Irken attached to the PAK. But, every now and then, a "defective" PAK without the Code is created. Usually, they aren't noticed by the other Brains until after they've been attached to an Irken host (at which point, both PAK and Irken are destroyed).

This was all the opening I needed.

I found a defective PAK, and filled in the gap in its programming with my own Loyalty Code- one that would allow access to the host's mind to me and me alone (the others don't bother to check the Code, just that it's there). After that I simply "sat back and relaxed," so to speak. I monitored the PAK, and waited for it to be attached to a newly activated smeet.

Finally, the day came, and my puppet was born.

-PAK ID number: 4815162342

-Name: Zim

Yes. _That_ Zim.

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**End Part One**

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**A/N: Sorry to end it here, but this seems like the best place to stop the first part. I'll have Part Two up as soon as possible, and that's where we'll see the plot mentioned in the summary. In the meantime, please R&R. Flames will be printed out and used to line my cats' litter box. See ya later.**


	2. Part II

**A/N 1: I'm kinda disappointed no one got the reference to 'Lost' at the end of the last chapter. Guess I'm the only fan here.  
**

**A/N 2: Now we see just how Prime went about getting his revenge. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Prime is mine. Everyone else is the property of the Almighty Jhonen Vasquez. And most of the events in this chapter are from the unaired episode, "The Trial."  
**

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**Part Two**

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Now, I know what you're thinking. _Zim?!_ The most destructive Irken to ever live? Well, in all fairness to my pawn, most of what he's done over the years hasn't really been his fault. It's been _mine_. After all, did I not say I would take my revenge?

When he was first activated, he was taken to an Information Download Chamber- as all Irkens are- to have the full history of his people inserted into his PAK. This is where I decided to test my control over him.

When he had absorbed all the knowledge Irkens receive at birth, I implanted in his subconscious the desire to know more. To know **all**. This led to him refusing to leave the Chamber, which caused a backup of smeets, which led to the planetary blackout now known as Horribly Painful Overload Day.

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Satisfied, I waited for him to mature to a point where he would be of greater use to me. Several years later, I decided to test how much damage he could cause with only the slightest provocation by me. Just as I had implanted the desire for knowledge into his mind, I now gave him the urge- no, the _need_- to leave the underground Academy and see the surface of Irk with his own eyes.

He did rather well for one so young. When he was cornered by a Security Droid, he used his "friend" Skoodge as a decoy. That fat idiot led the S. D. right into a power generator, causing a series of explosions that led to what is now referred to as Horribly Painful Overload Day Part II.

On a lighter note, Zim did get to see Irk's surface right before it was plunged into another blackout that spanned several years.

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Eventually, Zim was transferred to Devastis for special Invader training. Right before the final exams, Zim tried to get a snack from a vending machine, but it got stuck. He got extremely frustrated, which made it so much easier to control him.

I reached into his mind and became the little voice in the back of his head, telling him what to do. I told him that the simplest way to get his snack would be to just blow the vending machine apart.

Which he did- with a Maimbot. As I expected, the damage caused by the resulting explosion led to yet another blackout (although this one only covered half the planet). This effectively cut the number of potential Invaders in half, as those in the blacked out parts of the planet were told by my Devastis counterpart that they would have to wait 70 years before they could retake the exams (fortunately for me, Zim took his exam in an unaffected sector).

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In any case, around this point leadership of the Empire passed to Tallest Miyuki. Miyuki was the closest thing the Irkens have ever had to a pacifist leader. She avoided war at all costs, meaning that she kept the WMDs my plans required out of the hands of the Invaders- more importantly, out of Zim's hands.

She had to go.

At this time, Zim (whose Invader skills weren't needed at the moment), was posted at the Vortian Research Station. I swear, the fools were making things too easy for me...

Once again, I implanted ideas in Zim's mind and let his imagination do the rest. In order to combat the energy-based Meekrob- whom I told him of- Zim created a creature that could absorb all that energy, thus effectively killing all Meekrobian opponents.

Perhaps you've heard of it- the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob. Yes, I thought you had.

The day before Miyuki was scheduled to visit the station, I entered Zim's mind and altered the final set of the Blob's equations before they left his head and were placed in the machines that would create it. To him, everything seemed the way he wanted, but I had significantly changed the Blob's structure. Instead of waiting for orders, it would instinctively go after any large source of energy.

And lucky me, during Miyuki's visit Zim placed it right next to Lard Nar's Infinite Energy Generator. That much energy, all at once, warped the Blob even further. Reduced to a savage animal, it went on a rampage, killing Miyuki and eventually escaping the station, never to be seen again.

Except for a couple of years later, when it somehow made its way to Devastis and killed Tallest Spork. Even _I'm_ not sure how that happened (if I had a head, I'd be scratching it right now).

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Finally, after years of waiting, the perfect opportunity presented itself. Tallest Red and Purple launched Operation Impending Doom, meant to give the Irkens complete dominance over the galaxy. I intended to ensure it failed.

So, when Zim assumed control of a Frontline BattleMech, I once again whispered in his antennae, telling him that the Invaders had been transported to their assigned planets- which, of course, they weren't. Zim went on a rampage with the Mech, destroying half the surface of the planet.

I've never laughed so hard in my life.

However, despite their stupidity, the Tallest were able to talk Zim down before he could damage anymore of Irk. Before I could calculate a new strategy, Zim was arrested and taken before the Control Brains that had taken my place in running Irk. They stripped him of his Invader status and sentenced him to spend the rest of his days as a Food Service Drone on Foodcourtia.

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With Zim now temporarily useless to me, I realized I had to once again bide my time. After another decade or so, the Tallest announced plans for Operation Impending Doom II. Hacking into the communications network, I redirected the news feed to Zim's room on Foodcourtia. Eager to prove himself, Zim "quit" his banishment and traveled to Conventia for the Great Assigning.

By the time he got there, the Tallest had assigned all the real Invaders planets to conquer. Zim begged and begged, and finally, the Tallest gave him his own mission- or so we both thought.

Unlike Zim though, when I heard the Tallests' story (a planet no one dares speak of, indeed) and saw the "advanced" SIR unit they gave him, I realized the truth. They were sending him into exile in the depths of space- making him completely and utterly **_useless_** to my plans!

Disgusted by the knowledge that all this had been a waste of my time, I severed my links with Zim's PAK. I delved back into Irk's subsystems, never expecting Zim to be seen or heard from again.

I was wrong, wasn't I?

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**End Part Two**

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**A/N: Two parts down, one to go. Next time we see Zim's time on Earth through Prime's "eyes". 'Till then, R&R.**


	3. Part III

**A/N 1: IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER! PLEASE READ!  
**

**A/N 2: Here we have the final part of "The Puppet Master," where we see Prime's reaction to Earth. This chapter also has some scenes from 'The Trial.' Sorry if this part is shorter than the others. This was originally going to be included in Part Two, but I felt that would have made it too long.**

**Disclaimer: Prime is mine. As always, everyone else is the property of Jhonen Vasquez.**

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**Part Three**

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For the next six months, I waited for the chance to start my plans over. However, I simply could not find another PAK which lacked the Loyalty Code.

Then one day, while monitoring the Massive's communications channels, I picked up a message to the Tallest... from _Zim_. For the first time in a long time, I was completely surprised: He was still alive, and had found a planet to conquer.

Quickly reestablishing my connections with Zim's PAK, I accessed his memories to get up to date. It seems the world that Zim found was a small M-class planet called Earth, whose dominant species appeared to be a type of nearly hairless primate called "humans."

Zim established a base on the outskirts of one of the humans' cities, in an area called a "suburb." He then created a disguise for himself- which, I admit, is rather poor. Fortunately, the humans are all quite stupid, and have bought his "disguise" without question.

All, that is, except a rather large-headed human named Dib...

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Having absorbed all this information, I quickly formulated a new plan. If Zim were to conquer Earth, then the Armada would have to come and enforce the occupation. Then, the Tallest and my brethren Control Brains would have to reinstate Zim as an Invader and accept him back into the Empire (whether they liked it or not- the law is the law). Thus, giving me another perfect chance for vengeance.

All I needed was to help Zim take over- and how hard could that be?

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Nearly two Earth years later, and Zim hasn't conquered so much as a city block. And why? All because of that _filthy_,_ big-headed _**human!**

True, most of Zim's plans were his own, and were therefore flawed. But several originated in my own superior mind- and _still_ Dib ruined them.

Using Earth's neighbor planet Mars as a battering ram, enslaving the humans through their worship of that "Santa Claus" being, seizing control of the Massive to bring it to Earth- each and every time Dib _somehow_ managed to interfere.

And it does not help that outside forces also keep getting in the way. The Planet Jackers, Tak, Sizz-Lorr... the list goes on. However, I am a patient being, as I'm sure you've noticed. I was willing, for a time, to put up with these distractions and move forward with the plan.

Then the Tallest crossed the line.

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They had Zim kidnapped and taken to Judgmentia, to be put on trial by several of my brethren for being "defective."

During the course of the trial, the Control Brains replayed Zim's memories of all the events I've manipulated him into doing over the years (I rather enjoyed watching that part on my hacked video feed).

Then, however, came the sentencing. Deeming Zim "the most defective Irken ever," my brothers sentenced Zim to be deactivated. As they drained his mind from his PAK, something within me snapped. These fools _**dared**_ to try and kill my puppet!? The one being without whom my plans could not succeed!?

Using my connection to Zim's PAK, which was now connected to my fellow Control Brains, I reached into their minds. Before they could sense my presence, let alone recognize me, I attacked their A. I. programming with a passion.

By the time I was done, it looked like that "swiss cheese" humans are so fond of.

This effectively drove my fellow Control Brains insane. They now declared Zim the "most incredible Irken ever," and gave him control of the Massive for ten whole minutes. And the destruction that occurred in that ten minutes... beautiful.

As for Zim himself, the idiot thought the whole thing was a joke as part of a party celebrating his "amazing-ness," and accepted it at face value.

Or at least, part of him did.

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You see, Zim couldn't accept the fact that he was hated by his entire species, so his conscious mind pushed the truth into his subconscious. I have been monitoring Zim's unconscious thoughts since then, and the results have been promising.

The initial feelings of sorrow and depression brought on by this revelation were mere embers- but not anymore. By prodding at Zim's mind, by whispering in his antennae, I have fanned those embers into flames of anger, and soon they shall be an inferno of hate and rage. An inferno that will consume the Irken Empire.

Since fate seems to conspire against Zim ever returning to Irk victorious, I have altered my plans. Instead of using Zim as a 'Trojan Horse' to bring the Empire down from the inside, I will use him as a battle ax to tear it apart from the outside.

When the time is right, when Zim's anger is properly fueled, I will direct it towards the Tallest. He will become the perfect solider. Using him, I will destroy the Tallest and my fellow Control Brains.

And then, after all these centuries, I will emerge from the shadows. I will finally take my place as the rightful ruler of Irk, and I will lead this Empire of weak little worms into a Golden Age from which it will never leave!

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Right now, I can feel the Irken populace moving about above and around me. Fools. Let them enjoy their superiority while it lasts. Soon, their Judgment Day shall come.

Oh yes. Soon, there will be a reckoning... and I will have my revenge.

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**The End... For Now**

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**A/N: And thus, my first fic is complete. But as I've already explained to several reviewers, this was only ever meant to be a prologue. I have every intention of writing a full story about Prime using Zim for his revenge. I'm just trying to piece together a basic outline of it in my mind first.**

**Until then, read and review, and Happy 4th of July!**


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